Battery resident Christina Smith says the neighborhood is the “poster child” for petty complaints throughout St. John’s. (Ted Dillon/CBC)
The Newfoundland and Labrador government is poised to amend provincial legislation to help the city of St. John’s deal with a dispute over a security lighting system in the Outer Battery historic district, the city’s MHA says.
MHA John Abbott, the cabinet minister who represents the St. John’s East-Quidi Vidy district, said Monday the province is ready to amend the St. John’s City Act to allow the city to introduce a bylaw against “nuisance lighting.”
“The residents of the Outer Battery came to me because of their frustration with City Hall’s response,” Abbott said. He said he asked Municipal and Provincial Affairs Minister Krista Lynn Howell if the City of St. John Act would allow the city council to address the issue.
“The result of that conversation was amending the law to allow them to create a bylaw was probably the best way to go and we in the province are willing to do that.”
Abbott said Mayor Danny Breen rejected the amendment idea when it was first raised.
Earlier Monday, protesters gathered at St. John’s City Hall demanding a city settlement with the smoldering feud in the Outer Battery neighborhood, where homeowner Colin Way installed bright floodlights that drew complaints from neighbors.
Some longtime residents of the neighborhood said their quality of life has been eroded in the quiet, picturesque area, dotted on one side of the harbor with colorful houses clinging to the cliff.
But both the mayor and deputy mayor said there’s not much the city can do about it. Abbott said he was “amazed” by the city’s “antics” in response to the situation so far.
Protesters want the city of St. John’s to address the controversial nuisance lighting
Some longtime residents of the Outer Battery neighborhood say the bright lights installed by another resident are disrupting life in the quiet, scenic area. But both the mayor and deputy mayor said there’s not much the city can do about it.
On Monday, Deputy Mayor Sheila O’Leary tabled a motion during the city’s weekly meeting that the city ask the provincial government to amend the City of St. John Act to allow the city to introduce a nuisance lighting bylaw.
The motion was lost 8-1.
The situation has been worsening since November, but residents have been complaining about Way for more than a year.
More than 3,000 people have signed an online petition calling on the city to enact a “nuisance lighting bylaw.”
“The Battery has become the poster child for unpleasant lighting in St. John’s, but it’s not about the Battery. People all over St. John are complaining about the lights,” resident Christina Smith said at the rally. She said they had given the mayor and councilors a list of areas with complaints similar to those of Battery residents, as well as the results of an access to information inquiry about light problems in St John’s.
She said the city responded with “no violation, no action required.”
Dozens of residents took to the steps of St. John’s City Hall Monday to support Battery residents frustrated by bright lights on a homeowner’s property. (Ted Dillon/CBC)
“People are still suffering all over St. John’s because there’s no way the city can do anything about it,” Smith said.
“A good bylaw and enforcement by the city would prevent the situation that is happening in our neighborhood and happening in other neighborhoods.”
Breen and council members agreed that the St. John City Act needs to be changed, but not just one part of it.
“Thirty-two years ago we asked for a new act. We’re a modern city, we have modern issues,” Breen said during Monday’s council meeting.
“While the St. John’s City Code does a fantastic job of telling you where to park your horse or the most efficient way to herd the sheep on Water Street, it does nothing for the problems that residents come to us with these days. … So I think instead of amending a section of the bylaw that’s not going to do what people think it’s going to do, I think we should focus on completing the bylaw.”
Breen said he met last week with Howell, who told him the provincial government expects to complete the St. John City Act by the fall of 2024.
Breen also told Smith that there were other ways to approach the lighting problem in the battery.
St. John’s City Council chambers were packed Monday as residents waited for the City Council to vote on a proposal designed to address bright lights in the Battery neighborhood. (Jeremy Eaton/CBC)
In an email Monday, Breen told Smith that as part of the city’s “ongoing study of ways to address this issue,” there is a possible solution under the province’s Environmental Protection Act.
Breen pointed out that light is a form of “electromagnetic radiation” and the act states “a person must not discharge or permit to be discharged into the environment a substance which in the opinion of the Minister causes or is likely to cause an adverse effect”.
Breen copied both Abbott and Environment Secretary Bernard Davies in his email to Smith.
“We think they may be able to move faster than we can to find a more immediate solution,” Breen wrote.
“While we have been unable to take action under current municipal law, we have not been inactive on this matter and continue to work diligently on your behalf.”
Meanwhile, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary said officers are investigating allegations of property damage in the neighborhood.
Here is a video of the Renos chainsaw in the outdoor battery last night around 10:30 on supposedly private property that does not belong to the person with the chainsaw. photo. twitter.com/gGUljGFm4V
—@Mayor MarkWilson
A video circulating on social media over the weekend shows two men using a hacksaw and circular saw to cut away pieces of flooring from Pearcey’s Twine Store, a historic fishing spot that was owned by the late Charlie Pearcey.
Residents say there is a property dispute between the owners and Way, who owns several properties in the neighborhood.
Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
Add Comment